Sep 4, 2012

[Dawnlands] Your Friends and Neighbours, the Orthocracy

The Orthocracy is a weird place. Here's what its ordinary citizens look like:

An adventurer

A rich mercenary wearing custom-made plate from Dwer Tor

A katalictor on duty

A priest of Red-Handed Makar, patron of war and agriculture

Upper-middle class formal wear

A soldier of the Orthocracy

Recent fashion trends in the Orthocracy are to obscure the face with veils, masks, facial hair and tattoos

A soldier in the field

A mamluk of the Black Vermin Gods

Women in the Orthocracy need to be as capable with a weapon as any man.

A Weykulnic mercenary in the Cattle Market

An orthocrat's bodyguard

An adventurer-assassin

Mamluk of the Wives of Dukar.

A veteran of the armed forces on deployment

The uniform of the king's bodyguard, rarely seen since the revolution; worn by counter-revolutionary factions

The uniform of a magistrate prior to the revolution. Still worn by country gentlemen as formal wear.

Priests of the Screaming God

Ordinary townspeople

Prosperous horse-traders from the hinterlands of the Orthocracy

The typical clothing of a rural peasant

A gnostic of the Halls of Nightmare in meditation

Miners from the hinterlands near Weykuln

The local council of a village in the hinterlands

A rural woman

Rural dress has changed little since prior to the revolution

The Orthocracy is the epicentre of textile production in the Dawnlands. Its fabrics are in high demand.

A rural family on a stroll

A counter-revolutionary partisan from the hinterlands.

A skilled artisan in his business clothes.

Cassius, high priest of the Red and Blue Snake Cult

A priest of the Black Vermin Gods

Bodily modification through soul-forging has left a legacy of odd-looking people in the Orthocracy.

Dragonman mamluk of the Red and Blue Snake Cult

A gnostic of the Zulaymna, the premier school of sorcery in the Dawnlands

A member of the upper class who has had herself soul-forged along fashionable lines.

A Burnt assassin.

The Assayers of the Forgetower inspect the latest candidate to become a Soulforger.

An adventurer

Magic is ubiquitous in the Orthocracy. Many make a living selling charms and potions.

Kaddish is a lawless place, where any taste can find satiation.

Another upper-class woman, this time in formal wear.

All gods are welcome in the Orthocracy, the result of an ancient curse.

When they are not killing one another, the Kaddish are marvelously garrulous and jolly.

Household guards of the Hinam clan.

A priestess of the Blind God

An upper-class Burnt woman.

A vampire-cultist stands guard to prevent a murder-gnome from stealing the soul of this corpse before her master can.

A priestess of the Black Vermin Gods

Mamluk of the cult of Seven-Bladed Sij

A gnostic and her familiar

Cavalry officers like this man tend to come from the hinterland

A member of the College of the Wondrous Murder on patrol in Kingshead.

A member of their rivals, the White Square College.

A Burnt townsman

An acolyte pledges her devotion to the Headless God

People in the Orthocracy can vary considerably from what we consider "human" without seeming unusual.

An acolyte of the Red and Blue Snake Cult has his vow of obedience consecrated

Zulaith the Patriot, the most powerful gnostic in the Dawnlands

Dragonmen often seek work as mercenaries,bodyguards, and manual labourers

A dragonman who survives long enough eventually grows wings

A dragonman thief

A priestess of Red-Handed Makar

Women are legally equals of men in the Orthocracy, and many take up the adventuring life

House guard of clan Shul

Orthocratic soldiers on deployment in the former kingdom of Weykuln

A priestess of the Headless God

Gnostics from the House of Blood and Bone

A conclave at the Zulaymna

All schools of gnostics that sat out the revolution must wear masks.

An upper-class townswoman's everyday clothing. Black has been gaining in popularity.

Brantha Jurthine Klex, the most famous living artist in the Orthocracy

The Orthocracy is known for its alchemists.

Lower-class townswoman's clothing

A gnostic at work

Conservative woman's clothing, the kind of thing daughters are dressed in by overprotective parents.

A mercenary

A fashionable upper-class gentleman, in this case with facial tattoos rather than a mask.

The mask craze started back when the Black Vermin Gods first rose to prominence.

The Kaddish textile industry is capable of creating clothes unlike any others in the Dawnlands, with custom tailoring to each individual. Thousands of enslaved halfling toil to bedeck even the poorest man with fine clothing.

A vampire cultist praying

Masking the face is considered an act of patriotism that expresses the unity of all people in the Orthocracy regardless of species. Both men and women do it.

A clan assassin receives his mission

Gnostics rarely travel the plains alone.

Lacking prisons, the Orthocracy punishes those who break its laws with exile, mutilation and death.

The Burnt are a true-breeding variety of human and elf. Their skin is darkly pigmented, ranging from night blue to deep crimson. Though mostly an underclass, their elites are tastemakers and trend-setters amongst the upper class.